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Friday, July 31, 2009

So, two days ago I wrote about knowing who’s money we are spending. I reminded us that every time a government, any government, talks about spending money on a project it is our money they are spending. A government has no money of its own. I finished that post by saying that we are all cowards. Now let me explain.

Our tax system has always been progressive. That’s really not an appropriate term to describe it because what it really means is that our government takes money from those who have it and gives it to those who don’t. If you make less than $20,000 per year then you likely pay no income taxes at all. (please note here that income taxes are completely different than taxes like social security). If you make more than $200,000 per year then you get taxed very heavily. Seems fair right?

Before I go too much farther I want to make sure you understand me completely. There are real and legitimate reasons to take tax money and give it to the poor and needy. It is certainly not in our country’s best interest to have people homeless and without food and shelter. But what about the lady we’ve all seen in the grocery line that pays for milk and orange juice with food stamps and then plops a $20 down for a pack of cigs? What about that uncle you found out lost his job and is not looking for a new one because ‘he can make just as much on unemployment’? We’ve all seen them and we all know them.

Now, how would that lady or that uncle behave differently if instead they had to ask their neighbors (who apparently have more money) for their weekly stipend? Well, they wouldn’t ask. Why? Because we are all cowards. We stand behind our government while it robs those who have more and gives it to us. Those who get government handouts (and yes they are all handouts) have a moral responsibility to work their a** off to quit taking the handouts. But as long as they can stand in the shadows and let their government do the dirty work, that’s not going to change.

Am I suggesting that we just turn away from our poor and needy? Nope. Our government could run a very effective tax system that is fair for all and funds handouts for those who need it. But is the federal government really the one who should be involved here? I’ll get to that next time.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

To date I’ve refrained from talking about politics on my blog but I see so much liberal nonsense on the news that I felt like I had to say something. I have several topics in my head that I would like to speak on but I’ll start with this one.

I have 4 kids and I’ve tried to raise them with good old-fashioned family values. Be true to your word, stand on your own two feet, and worship your God. Still I’ve heard my kids talk about the ‘government’s money’. Recently we were talking about some project that Washington was thinking about funding (don’t remember which one) and one of my kids said that she thought the government should pay for it. So as President Obama would say, I used that moment as a teaching moment.

I asked my daughter if she wanted to pay for it or if she wanted me to pay for it. She said of course not, she wanted the government to pay for it. I explained to her that the government has no money. All of the money the government spends comes from the citizens through some form of taxes.

Of course some items are necessary. We need interstate roads, military defense, and international trade just to name a few. On the local level I certainly want the police, fire department, or EMTs to show up when I call 911. There are very legitimate uses of our money. But I explained to my daughter that the next time you hear of the government wanting to spend money, just ask yourself if you would want to chip in and help pay for that. If not, then the government shouldn’t be doing it either.

And this is what the liberals in this country just can’t grasp. I was watching a recent episode of The Daily Show that had Bill Kristol on as a guest. Near the end, Jon was very smugly asserting that since the US can run a quality healthcare system (the VA) then every citizen deserves the same. What he, of course, will not talk about is how that is paid for. Of course our government _could_ provide world class healthcare for everyone. Heck, it could do it completely free of charge. Just walk in to the doctor’s office, flash your medical card, and get what you need. But who pays for that? As we just learned the government has no money. So who pays for it? Your neighbors pay for it. Your neighbors pay for it through increased taxes.

And that, my friends, is why we are all cowards. More on that tomorrow…

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Due to the massive amount of manual comment spam I have been getting, I have no choice but to disable comments until I'm able to integrate a better spam fighting system. Anyone who is generally interested in a posting and would like to ask me a question, feel free to send me an email.